


History Dating

by WearingOutWinter



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Femslash February, Fluff, Jess is a big space dork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-02-09
Packaged: 2018-05-19 10:19:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5963755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WearingOutWinter/pseuds/WearingOutWinter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the New Republic military throws itself into the fight against the First Order, long serving members of the Resistance are offered furloughs for much needed R&R. Jessika Pava takes advantage of the downtime to drag her girlfriend to the Museum of the Alliance to Restore the Republic Starfighter Command on Corellia.</p>
            </blockquote>





	History Dating

Jess was practically bouncing by the time the shuttle landed, and Rey stifled a giggle as the self-proclaimed fighter jock all but sprinted down the boarding ramp. At least they didn't have far to go: the museum (which housed, according the holo-marquee, "examples of every starfighter flown by Alliance pilots during the Galactic Civil War") was practically right next to the spaceport, in a converted impound hanger.

Still, Rey stuck close to Jess's heels during the short walk, and by the time they were standing in front of the doors, she felt the need to close her eyes and try one of the breathing exercises Skywalker had taught her.

"Oh, hell. Are you alright?"

Rey opened her eyes to find Jess staring at her, chewing on her lip. The former scavenger released the last breath in the sequence before she responded.

"I'm fine. It's just... crowded."

"Oh." The dark-haired pilot blinked. "Are you claustrophobic? You should have said..."

"I'm fine with tight spaces." Rey shrugged. "Believe me, I've scrambled through enough star destroyer ventilation systems to know. But this many people... I mean, D'Qar was busy, but this..."

"This is a major spaceport, and you grew up on a desert planet with about six people on it." Jess groaned. "Damn it, I'm sorry. I should have asked you before we came here."

"It's not your fault. It took me by surprise too."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jess waved at the museum. "We flew over a park on the way in.

We could rent a speeder and head there. It's bound to be quieter."

"Jess, I'm fine. Really." Rey smiled. "And we flew halfway across the galaxy so you could geek out over some old spaceships. Let's go in."

"Well, if you're..." Jess's jaw snapped shut. "Wait a minute, 'geek out'? I appreciate history and I have a professional interest in this! I'm not here to geek out!"

Rey said nothing. But she arched an eyebrow meaningfully. Jess held her gaze for a second, then deflated.

"Alright, so I am here to geek out. But it's not fair, using the mysterious all-knowing jedi act on someone your dating."

Rey laughed, and leaned forward to kiss Jess on the cheek.

"I'm just a student, Jess. I couldn't read your mind if I wanted to." She pulled back, and grinned. "But you look like Finn with a winning sabaac hand."

"Am I that obvious?"

Jess's voice was mournful. Rey nodded gravely.

"I'm afraid so."

"Damn."

But she grinned when she said it, and then she took Rey's hand and dragged her inside.

The interior of the museum was massive. Fighters hung at various heights from the distant ceiling, but Rey could tell from the distortion in the air beneath them that the cables strapped to wings and fuselages were emergency measures: repulsorlifts were doing the real work. There were fewer people around then she expected. Jess noticed it too.

"Did you pay attention to the local time when we were landing?" The pilot asked, looking around speculatively.

"No. Did you?"

"No. But it must be working hours. Looks like the only people are tourists."

"Like us, you mean? Are you thinking about running to the gift shop before the good stuff ' s gone?"

Jess shot her a grin.

"Nah. I can pick you up some flight suit pajamas on our way out. Now c'mon, I want to start with the oldest exhibits and work forward!"

Rey had heard a lot of war stories: second hand ones, from Jess, and firsthand accounts from Chewbacca, Skywalker, and General Organa. But she didn't recognize any of the fighters in the first display Jess stopped at.

"Clone Wars cast-offs," The pilot explained. "Most of these were old even when the Alliance first got their hands on them. Like that one."

Rey followed her pointing hand to the largest of the ships, with three wings on each side.

"Arc-170. Lumbering old monster of a three-seater. Or that one, that looks like it wants to be a star destroyer when it grows up."

She pointed towards a small, dagger-shaped craft.

"V-wing interceptor. First step on the disposable ship, disposable pilot line of thinking that gave the Empire the old TIEs. Not exactly the state of the art, back when the Alliance was formed. But they made do with what they had."

"You admire that, don't you?"

"Well, yeah." 

Jess spread her hands.

"I mean, the Resistance isn't running over with funds, it's true. But we're not strapping ourselves into twenty-year-old cast-offs and hoping to take on a military that controls the entire galaxy, either. I just try to imagine it, you know? Tiny squadrons flying whatever they could beg, borrow, or steal, huddling in secret hangars on barren rocks and hoping that the next sensor ping isn't a Star Destroyer with enough troops and firepower to bring an entire system to heel. I still can't quite believe that the rebellion held on long enough to get the death star plans, let alone win the Battle of Yavin."

She shook her head.

"Speaking of, I heard they had the last Red Squadron X-wing somewhere in here. Let's find it!"

For Rey, the next hour was something of a blur, as Jess led her from one exhibit to another, alternating between rattling off fighter specs and waxing rhapsodic about the pilots who flew them. Eventually, the reached something labeled as the "Hall of Heroes," where several rows of holoprojectors displayed life-size figures of people Rey assumed were famous pilots. The nearest one, a short man with dark hair, spoke up as they approached.

"Wedge Antilles, Corellia."

A moment later, a second voice spoke.

"The only Alliance pilot to survive both Death Star assaults, Commander Antilles also holds the most enemy craft destroyed of any alliance pilot..."

"Just say 'confirmed kills,'” Jess grumbled as the recording continued listing biographical info. "This is a war museum, it's not going to shock anyone."

Rey frowned at the figure of Antilles, frozen beside a slowly spinning X-wing.

"I think I know the name. He was Luke's wingmate at Yavin, right?"

Jess nodded.

"One of two, yeah. The other was... Darklighter, I think? He and Skywalker knew each other back on Tatooine. He, uh, he didn't make it."

Jess sighed.

"Does he ever talk about it? Any of it?"

"Sometimes. Not about battles or..."

Rey waved a hand to take in the museum all around them.

"...any of this, really. But he talks about his friends. Han, General Organa, Rogue Squadron. But it's always about the little things. The... quiet moments, I suppose."

"That makes sense," Jess says quietly. "Hell, do you think that's what Dameron and I will be like in thirty years? All morose and serious?"

"That'll be the day," Rey snorted. "But Luke's not morose, he's... somber. I think he still feels a lot of weight on his shoulders."

Jess nodded.

"Being the only Jedi in the galaxy can do that, I guess." Her eyes went wide. "Wait, Sithspit, I didn't mean that you--"

Rey laughed.

"I know you didn't. Now, who's this?"

She pointed to the next pilot in the display, a woman whose close-cropped hair was almost the same color as her flight suit.

Jess gave the figure a quick once-over.

"Oh, that's--"

She was cut off as the display began to speak.

"Gina Moonsong, Alderaan."

"Yeah, her."

The museum's own recording chimed in.

"A cadet in the Imperial Academy when her home planet was destroyed, Lieutenant Moonsong went MIA on her first training flight to defect to the Alliance. She would go on to participate in the destruction or disabling of more capital ships than any other..."

Jess nodded along to the recitation.

"You know, there was a holo about her. Came out when I was about fourteen. The actress who played her… Well, I kept the posters in my bedroom for years."

Jess chuckled, self-conciously.

"Ah." Rey nodded soberly. "So she's the one I can blame for your little flight suit fetish."

"My what?"

Jess wheeled to stare at Rey, then deflated as she saw the other woman failing to hide a smile.

"You're teasing me. I can't believe it. The starry-eyed saver from Jakku is teasing me. When did you get so cruel?"

Rey gave an airy shrug.

"It must be all the low company I've been keeping. Smugglers and soldiers and fighter jocks."

Jess laughed, and the two of them continued down the line of holograms. At the very end was the floating image of a man that Rey found very familiar.

"Luke Skywalker, Tatooine."

The hologram was, admittedly, quite different from the man she knew. Younger, thinner, clean-shaven: but there was something in his eyes that made him instantly recognizable.

"You know, all the other bios have lead with the most impressive accomplishment,” Jess said thoughtfully. "But he's Luke Skywalker! How the hell do you bottom-line that?"

Rey just shrugged as the display began talking.

"Raised from childhood on a distant desert planet, the boy who would become the hero of the Alliance--"

"Cop out!" Jess shouted, and Rey dissolved into a fit of giggles.

-x-

After they left the Hall of Heroes, Jess and Rey drifted towards the museum's bank of simulators. There were a dozen in all, all single-seat pods that mimicked starfighter cockpits, and they were plainly some of the more popular exhibits. When the two women arrived, all twelve were occupied, so they loitered nearby while Jess browsed the brochure on her datapad.

"Hey, they have actual historical Sims on these. Yavin, Endor, Jakku... I wish we could get those back at base. All we have are whatever evil hypotheticals Dameron dreams up. Or the damn Redemption scenario."

"The what?"

Jess groaned.

"Theoretically, it's a mission about defending a Rebel medical frigate from an Imp attack. Actually, it's a half-hour nightmare of TIE bombers and misery. I think they only keep it around to torture new pilots with."

Rey smiled.

"That bad, huh?"

"I had to pass it before they'd assign me a fighter. Took me three tries and I was hearing the warning klaxons in my dreams for a month."

A few minutes later, two pods were vacated by a pair of Wookiee cubs. As Rey climbed into one, she looked around curiously. It was certainly light-years beyond the set-up she had cobbled together back on Jakku: a full array of holo-screens, a proper set of controls, even what felt like modified inertial dampers to give the feel of being in motion. That said, it was also much simpler than an actual x-wing, or the full-spec simulators back on D'Qar. There was a single start-up switch, instead of the bank of controls for engines, shields, and weapons, and the landing gear, ejection seat, and power distribution controls appeared to be missing. Well, it was a civilian model.

"All strapped in?"

Jess's voice buzzed in her ear. The helmets were quite accurate, she had to admit.

"Good to go."

She flicked the start-up switch and listened and the simulator buzzed to life around her.

"I'm your wing, Blue Three. What mission are we flying?"

Jess laughed.

"I'm feeling a bit spoiled for choice, really. Any preferences?"

Rey shrugged.

"Surprise me."

They ended up flying the evacuation of Hoth. It started out with intercepting a quartet of TIE fighters strafing a staging area, before transitioning into escorting a transport as it lumbered its way towards open space. Rey wasn't as familiar with starfighters as she was with freighters--Jess had taken her up for a practice flight or two, but that was all--so she wasn't always able to keep up with the veteran pilot. But she didn't make any fatal mistakes, and Jess was always there to catch any fighters that slipped past her.

The sky above Hoth went black as they left the atmosphere behind, and even though it was a simulation, Rey still felt a trickle of dread as the massive bulk of a star destroyer loomed into view.

"Er, Jess? How are we supposed to deal with that?"

Before Jess could answer, an enormous bolt of energy shot up from Hoth's surface. It struck the stat destroyer head-on sending spiderweb of blue lightning crackling across the hull. Rey's sensors said the vessel had lost power, and an unfamiliar voice spoke through the comms.

"This is Echo Base, you are clear for hyperspace. See you at the rendezvous point, and may the Force be with you."

The simulator screens went black, and Jess whooped.

"That was incredible! Think they sell these programs at the gift shop?"

"I doubt it. I don't think the families that come out here have access to many Starfighter sims."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Jess sighed. "Damn, I'd love to have some of these on file back home."

Rey ran her hands along the underside of the control console. About halfway along, her fingers found the tell-tale divot of an access port.

"You know there might still be a way."

"What, really?"

"Yeah. Could you bring your datapad over, please?"

"What are you planning, Rey?"

Even through the comm, Jess sounded suspicious.

"It's a surprise."

A minute later, the simulator's hatch swung open and Jess handed over her datapad. She watched curiously as Rey plugged the device into the simulator.

"Alright, what are you messing with in there?"

"Well, I found a maintenance port in here," Rey said, not looking up from the screen. So, if I can fool the system into thinking I'm a museum employee just running a backup routine, I should be able to pull a couple of the scenarios off."

"Really?" Jess sounded impressed. "I didn't know you were a slicer."

"I'm not, really. But once in a while, when I was scavenging, I'd find an old computer system limping by on backup power. I got pretty good at pulling data off of them--it was a good way to know if there was anything worth finding in that particular wreck."

Jess's mouth dropped open.

"You taught yourself how to slice on military-grade systems?"

Rey laughed.

"It wasn't like I was trying to fire up the turbolasers. It was more parts inventories and mess - hall menus than anything else."

"Still," Jess shrugged. "That's really cool."

Rey blushed, and bent more closely over the 'pad.

A few minutes later, she the datapad gave a faint beep, and she punched the air.

"Gotcha! Alright, just give me a couple of minutes to grab the files and we'll be good to go."

"Uh..." Jess glanced over her shoulder. "Anyway you could make that faster? There's a bit of a line forming."

"Sorry, Jess. They're big files."

Rey held up the datapad, where a progress bar was inching slowly across the screen. Jess sighed.

"Alright. I guess we'll just hope people are patient, then."

People were not, as it turned out, patient. A minute after the transfer hit 70 percent, Jess cleared her throat.

"Uh, Rey? There's a Trandoshan in a security uniform coming this way. Do we have a plan?"

"Er... hide the 'pad and lie like a rug?"

The pilot groaned.

"C'mon, can't you mind trick 'em into going away?"

Rey shook her head.

"I've never tried it with a non-human. And even if I had, I don't think using the force to mask petty crimes is the Jedi way."

"Well, is getting arrested for data larceny the Jedi way? Because that guard's getting closer."

Rey sighed.

"Alright, I have a plan. Come here."

"Wha--" was all Jess managed to say before Rey seized her by the collar and dragged her down into a kiss. The pilot's hands groped in the air for a second before settling around the sitting woman's shoulders, and Rey felt heat rush to her face as Jess's breath shuddered in her chest. She was just threading a hand through Jess's dark hair when there was a rough reptilian cough.

"Excuse me."

Jess straightened, blinking rapidly, and turned to face the guard.

"I, uh, yes?"

Rey looked up at the Trandoshan, all innocence.

"What can we help you with—"

She paused, groping for an honorific. She was rubbish with sexual dimorphism in non-mammals. Covering her confusion with a cough, she finished

"—officer?"

The Trandoshan's eyes filmed over briefly as they blinked at her.

"If you are finished with the simulator, could I ask you to move on to another exhibit? Other visitors are waiting."

Behind Rey, there was a ding as the file transfer was completed. One-handed, she yanked the cord out of the simulator and shoved the datapad in her pocket, keeping the movement hidden behind her back. She smiled.

"Of course, officer. We're sorry to have caused you any trouble."

As the women strolled nonchalantly away, they heard a hissing sigh behind them.

" _Mammals_."

-x-

Hours later, when Jess and Rey finally exited the museum, the sky above the spaceport was covered in dull grey clouds, and the pavement was slick with rain. Jess pulled her jacket tight.

"You know, I think I heard about this on the ride in. We're right on the coast here, and apparently rainstorms blow in off the ocean pretty frequently."

Rey looked up at the clouds speculatively.

"You think it's done?"

Her question was punctuated by a large drop splashing into a puddle an inch in front of her right boot. Jess grinned.

"I'd say there's plenty of rain left."

Rey nodded slowly as the rain began to pick up, sending more drops onto and around her.

"And you said there was a park not far from the spaceport, right?"

"Yeah. If we rent a speeder, we can be there in a couple minutes."

"What if we run?"

Rey shot her a grin that a less charitable witness might have described as manic—she loved rain in a way that only someone raised on a desert planet could. Once, Jess had returned from a mission to find her standing on the landing strip in the middle of a downpour, turning her face from the sky just long enough to stomp a puddle with both feet.

"If we run... maybe fifteen?"

"Perfect."

Rey seized Jess's hand and took off at a dead sprint.

As they ran, Jess made a point to hit as many puddles as possible.

**Author's Note:**

> I love this ship, but I'm still trying to get Rey's and Jess's voices down. Still, I hope it was fun to read!


End file.
